


Bad Liar

by mmmwddd



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Liam Dunbar, Oblivious Theo Raeken, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 16:44:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmwddd/pseuds/mmmwddd
Summary: When Liam's ex girlfriend comes back to town after a year he panics and tells her that he is dating someone.





	Bad Liar

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm apparently really bad at summaries but basically I'm obsessed with fake dating fics and decided to write one. It's not beta read so I'm sorry if it sucks.
> 
> Title- Bad Liar by Selena Gomez

"Oh, so you're dating someone?" 

Liam Dunbar had done a lot of stupid things in his life but as he nodded his head in answer to Hayden's question he thinks that he may have broken a new record. 

He hadn't meant to tell the lie, really he hadn't and as he did he couldn't help but think that this was not the way this day was supposed to go.  
It was the first day of his senior year of high school and things had been good lately, great even. Since they had defeated the hunters and the anukite the year before things had calmed down, and to everyone's surprise, they had stayed calm. The older members of the pack finally left for college, leaving Liam in charge and with no more hunters or supernatural threats showing up, things had been going well. 

Liam had finished junior year out strong, finally being able to get his grades up, he was co captain of a lacrosse team that seemed to actually have a chance at winning this year, and he had his friends at his side, both old and new. He had Mason and Corey, of course, but the threat of almost dying multiple times had ended up leading to new friendships that he did not expect. There was Alec, a young werewolf that Scott had adopted into the pack shortly after the war, and Nolan. Liam had been skeptical of Nolan after the war since he had spent most of it trying to get Liam and his pack killed but he had helped them in the end and after the anukite had been killed and the fear in the town had subsided, he had turned out to be a good friend and co captain. And then there was Theo. 

This addition to their little pack was a shock to most but for Liam it had made perfect sense. He had not forgotten what Theo had done when he'd first come to Beacon Hills but ever since coming back from hell he had been different. He was still an asshole but Liam strongly believed that he no longer wanted to kill any of them. At first maybe he had been helping them out of obligation but then Liam had destroyed the sword and he stayed. He fought with Liam and he had saved his life multiple times even if it meant risking his own to do it, despite what he may have said. The war ended and Theo could have left but he didn't, he wanted to stay and help with any other potential threat that might pop up. He stayed to help the pack even though he thought that they would never accept him and when Liam found out that he was living in his truck he found that to be truly unacceptable. Which is how Theo ended up living in his guest room across the hall. The older members of the pack were skeptical when Liam had told them about Theo's new living arrangements but they trusted Liam and Liam trusted Theo. After living together for months and constantly spending time together their apprehensive trust had evolved into a friendship, not just between Theo and Liam, but also the rest of the puppy pack. 

With all of these good things that Liam had in his life he knew that his senior year was going to be great. He had walked through the doors to the school that morning, Mason and Corey by his side, confident that nothing could bring him down. This confidence lasted all of thirty seconds when he made eye contact with someone that he had mentally prepared to never see again. 

It's not that he and Hayden ended on bad terms, necessarily. She had left to protect her sister and he had understood that but it hadn't made it hurt any less. He had not seen or talked to her for a year and he had healed. It wasn't that he never wanted to see her again, he just hadn't particularly expected to. He certainly had not expected to see her in the school hallway, taking books from her locker as if she had never left. She smiled when she saw him and started to close her locker, presumably to walk over to him so he did what any rational person would do, quickly avoided eye contact and booked it in the opposite direction. He wasn't trying to avoid her, not really, he just didn't know what to say to her after all of this time. He knew that he should talk to her he just needed some time to figure out what to say.

By the time lacrosse practice was over and she cornered him while he was leaving the locker room, Mason and Corey both standing nearby but neither one doing absolutely anything to intervene, he still had not figured out what to say to her. Luckily for him it didn't seem that she expected him to say too much as she launched into a speech about how she should have told him that she was coming back but she didn't know how. She then went on to ask about how he's been over the last year and it was when she was going on and on about how bad she felt about leaving him alone and how hard everything must have been for him without her there that he started to get angry. 

He hadn't been alone. She had left him but that didn't mean that he was alone. Scott, Malia, and Lydia had stayed until they were sure that he could handle things on his own. Stiles, Derek, and even two random wolves that he had never met from London had all come back to help defeat the hunters. Even after they left he still had people. He had Mason, and Corey, and Theo. He had so many people in his life that had been there for him and here she was saying that she had left him alone, as if she was the only person that mattered to him. Deep down, a logical part of him knew that this was not what she meant but as she went on saying that maybe she should have come back earlier after the war so that he would have had someone, he could not help but be angry. That anger was the only defense that he had for the words that tumbled out of his mouth next.

"It's okay, really. The war was hard but I'm happy now" and he should have stopped there. He knows that he should have stopped there but it was as if his mouth was on autopilot as he continued, "I have someone now that I really care about".

She looked surprised but tried to cover it up as she asked "oh, so you're dating someone?" 

As Liam nodded he looked over to Mason and Corey, both wearing an expression of surprise that was quickly taken over by thinly veiled amusement. Hayden followed his gaze and they both tried to maintain neutral expressions while nodding as if to confirm his idiotic story, now that was loyalty. 

"So who is it?" Liam will be the first to admit that this question should not have shocked him and that he should have been able to come up with a better response than "uh, what?"

"Who are you dating?" She asked again and he noticed that her tone wasn't demanding or accusatory, she was genuinely curious. Liam was left stuck trying to think of a response when he heard a car horn sound from the parking lot, much louder and for a longer amount of time than would ever be necessary for a werewolf to hear, with the clear intent to irritate him and he had never understood the expression saved by the bell more than in that moment.

"uh that's our ride we gotta go" he said quickly, gesturing to Mason and Corey as they followed behind him trying to keep his pace, cutting Hayden off from anything that she might try to say next. He didn't bother to turn around but he knew that she was following not too far behind them, though at a slower pace, he could smell the confusion seeping off of her. He tried to ignore it as he continued to rush down the hallway, trying to think of anything that he had ever done that was dumber than this and coming up blank. He thought that maybe he could take comfort in the idea that this is probably the dumbest and most petty thing that he would ever do.

He quickly proved himself wrong as he walked out the doors of the school and saw Theo leaning against his truck, in the practically empty parking lot, looking down at his phone as he waited for them. He could hear that Hayden was about to walk out the doors and it was in that moment that he got an admittedly terrible idea. He continued to walk towards Theo's truck and began to speak in a low voice, one that Theo could hear but Hayden couldn't the farther away he got.

"I'm about to do something weird" at this Theo looked up at him,so he continued on "I need you to go with it and act as though it is not weird and also not punch me in the face and as soon as we're far away enough from the school I promise I'll explain." This caused Theo to raise an eyebrow in curiosity and maybe hesitation to agree to such a vague request but then he saw Theo's signature smirk make its way on to his face and he gave a nearly unnoticeable nod. 

That's when Liam took off running straight toward Theo. 

He could tell that Theo tensed up, not totally sure of what was happening but he kept his pace as he quickly closed the distance before launching himself into Theo's arms with so much force that anyone else would have definitely stumbled if not fallen over completely, but not Theo. Theo let out a surprised huff as he caught Liam and then instead of putting Liam back on the ground he spun him around while still fully engrossed in the hug as if this was a totally normal occurrence for them. Liam had to appreciate Theo's ability to really take the request of 'go with it' to heart. Liam buried his face in Theo's neck, trying not to notice how good he smelt, before pulling away as Theo placed his feet back on the pavement.

"Damn, Little Wolf, I knew you couldn't make it a day without me" his smirk was in place but his eyes were fond. 

Liam choked out a laugh and discreetly nodded his head to where he knew Hayden was still standing by the entrance of the school. Theo's gaze followed and his fond expression dropped from his face being replaced with an emotion that appeared so quickly that Liam couldn't place it before his face hardened into a neutral expression. Liam felt Theo's hands tighten on his waist where they had apparently stayed after the hug, it was at this moment that Liam realized that they hadn't fully pulled apart and his arms were still resting loosely around Theo's neck. He removed them as he heard the quickly approaching footsteps of Mason and Corey and he turned to get in the passenger seat as everyone else also climbed into the truck. As they pulled out of the parking lot Liam couldn't help but look back to the school where Hayden was standing frozen with a shocked expression on her face.

They drove in silence for about five minutes before Theo pulled into a random parking lot and abruptly turned to Liam.

"Want to tell me what the hell that was?" Before Liam could even open his mouth to respond Mason and Corey both erupted in to laughter from the back seat. 

"Seriously, dude? What part of that seemed like a good idea?" Mason asked between laughs. Liam just sat there still in shock from the events of the last 10 minutes so Theo turned to the backseat instead and just raised an eyebrow , waiting for one of them to inform him of what just happened. Mason tried to stop laughing long enough to explain. 

"Well. Hayden's back" he said before laughing again.

"Yeah, I got that much. Why was I just attack hugged in a parking lot?" Theo asked, clearly growing more impatient. 

Corey finally calmed down enough to pick up where his boyfriend had left off.  
"He told her you guys were dating." 

At this Theo froze. "He did WHAT?"

"Ok, well technically" Corey picked back up "he just told her he was dating someone."

"And then he promptly jumped into my arms" Theo filled in the blanks while slowly turning back to the passenger seat to raise an eyebrow in Liam's direction, as if waiting for an explanation.

"I uh - I panicked" Liam finally managed to stutter out.

"I didn't know she was coming back and I saw her and I just- I just didn't know what to say to her and honestly I tried to avoid her until I could figure that out but then she cornered me and she wanted to talk and she was just going on and on about how she left me alone and how I didn't have anybody and i just got mad and before I even knew what I was saying it just sort of tumbled out of my mouth and I didn't even mean to say it but at that point it was already out there and I didn't know what to do and then I walked outside and I saw you and I just sort of acted and I know it was stupid of me and it wasn't fair for me to drag you into my idiotic lie, especially without even really asking you first and I'm really sorry" Liam finally stopped talking, panting for breath, realizing that he had made that whole speech without taking one.

When he looked up at Theo the other boy was just staring back at him, face emotionless, not saying anything, and really Liam just needed him to say something. He needed some reaction to all of this and when he finally got it it was not exactly what he expected.

"I'm impressed" 

"Wait what?" Liam responded in shock. "I just told my ex girlfriend that we're dating and instead of thinking it's stupid you think it's impressive?" 

"Oh no, that was definitely stupid" Theo replied, smirk slipping back into place, "but judging by Hayden's face back there she clearly believed you which means you kept your heart under control while lying, which is just truly shocking. So good job Little Wolf, I really didn't think you had it in you." 

And honestly Liam had been pretty sure that he didn't have it him. He hadn't even thought about how he'd been able to lie without his heart skipping so the fact that that's the first place Theo took it was just a little bit baffling, though ultimately not that surprising.

"Is that all you have to say about it?" Liam asked, still a bit shocked by Theo's reaction.

"Well what else do you want me to say? I mean I'll do it."

"Do what?" 

"Be your fake boyfriend? You just told your ex girlfriend that you were dating someone then you quite literally threw yourself at me. Is that not where this was headed?" Theo asked, starting to get a bit exasperated at this point.

Liam blinked slowly, still trying to catch up with everything happening around him.  
"Honestly I hadn't gotten that far ye-" he cut himself off, Theo's words finally sinking in "wait you would do that for me?"

"I mean, what other plan do you have Liam? You told her you were dating someone. It was a dumbass move but if she finds out that you lied you're gonna look like a complete asshole. Also really pathetic." Theo responded.

"I mean yes. The delivery leaves something to be desired but you make a valid point. But I more meant why would you agree to help me?" Liam clarified.

"Well you did bring me back from Hell, seems like the least I could do" he paused after seeing the skeptical look on Liam's face "plus things around here have gotten a little boring lately with nobody trying to kill us and watching you try to convincingly lie your way through this seems like the exact kind of entertainment that I'm looking for." He finished, and well, at least Liam knew he was being honest.

"You'd have to lie too" Liam pointed out.

At that, everyone in the car leveled Liam with an unimpressed look.

"I think we all know that won't be a problem, Little Wolf. We can do this for a few weeks and before we inevitably get caught due to your out of control emotions and general inability to lie, we break up, but amicably, obviously because I don't have enough money to move out yet and that could raise a few eyebrows." 

Liam just stared at him silently until Theo asked "so are we doing this or what?"

Finally, Liam gained control of his voice again, "Uh, yeah. Yes. We're doing this. And regardless of your asshole motives, I appreciate you agreeing to this." 

He had to throw that in there because he needed Theo to know that he really did appreciate this, that what Theo had just agreed to definitely went above and beyond the normal duties of friendship. Theo just smiled back at him, like it should have been obvious that he would agree, as if this was a totally normal favor. After that had been decided they just sort of sat there in comfortable silence until a voice from the backseat finally spoke up.

"You all realize this is crazy right?" Corey asked them. "Like Liam definitely didn't do himself any favors with the initial lie but this- there's just no way this can end well." 

He looked to his boyfriend for backup and for a moment it seemed like he was going to get it. "This is a truly terrible idea" Mason confirmed, "you should absolutely do it." 

Corey just gaped at his boyfriend as if he could not believe that he was consigning this, while Theo and Liam looked at one another and shrugged as Theo started the car again and proceeded to actually drive them home.

"She's gonna ask questions though" Mason continued, "so you have to get your story straight and I'd stick as close to the truth as you can so that Liam has to lie as little as possible, since she'll probably be listening to his heartbeat."

Liam wanted to protest but despite the fact that by some miracle he got away with the lie earlier, he knew that he would probably not get that lucky more than once. 

"Ok, so what should we tell her?" Liam asked.

"Like I said, as close to the truth as possible. She knows about the beginning, you brought him back, there was lots of yelling, multiple broken noses," Theo and Liam both snorted at this, causing Mason to roll his eyes before continuing. "Theo stayed and helped against the hunters, you guys fought together, you saved each other, then Theo moved in with you, you got closer, became friends, that's all true-" and listening to it Liam knew that it was true, maybe this wouldn't be that hard after all, "-and then just tack on that eventually you boned."

Liam choked at the abrupt end to Masons statement, while Theo just laughed, "think you can handle that, Little Wolf?" 

Liam tried to catch his breath before replying, realizing that the statement really shouldn't have caught him off guard as much as it did. Also vaguely registering, not for the first time, that he wasn't exactly opposed to the idea though that was a thought that he quickly shoved to the back of his mind.

"I can handle it. Might change the wording up but I can definitely handle it."

Theo just smirked but kept his eyes on the road. Mason continued talking, "Also, you're definitely gonna have to kiss." 

At this, both boys in the front seemed to freeze and gasp for breath all at the same time, as if all of the air had been knocked out of them. If he wasn't so shocked by the statement Liam definitely would have been worried that Theo could hear how rapidly his heart was beating, though he also knew that there was no way to hide it.

Liam swears that Theo started to slam on the break before quickly recovering and calmly directing a question to Mason, "What? Why? There are lots of couples that aren't big on PDA."

Mason just rolled his eyes and responded as though the answer should have been obvious, "well yeah, but this is Liam."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Liam quickly interjected.

"No offense Li, but when you're with someone you're not exactly subtle about it. You had your tongue down Hayden's throat for 80% of your relationship and you were literally always touching in one way or another. Pretty sure she'll notice if you never touch your supposed boyfriend."

Liam wanted to disagree but honestly- "he might have a point" he looked at Theo guiltily, " but we probably won't have to actually kiss. We can just hold hands and shit." 

"Lucky me" Theo replied sarcastically. 

"Plus you're not in school anymore so it's not like she'll even see us together all that much," Liam reasoned, not sure if he was trying to convince Theo or himself. 

After dropping off Mason and Corey, Theo drove them home and compared to the events of the afternoon they had a surprisingly normal night. They helped Jenna with dinner and the cleanup before going upstairs so that Liam could do his homework and they could play video games before they went to sleep, neither one mentioning the ridiculous act that they were going to be putting on starting the next day.

Theo drove Liam to school in a comfortable silence, other than the soft music playing from the radio. It wasn't until they were about to pull up to the school that Theo spoke.

"So what's the plan here? You just tell Hayden that we're dating and if we see her when we're together we start holding hands?" 

"Uh yeah, that's pretty much the only plan I have" Liam answered before another thought crossed his mind, "What if other people start to pick up on it? Do we just go with it?"

"Well yeah, Liam. I don't think we can really get away with literally lying to only Hayden about it, but I also don't think anyone in the town is gonna give a shit. Basically, people at your school will find out" Theo responded as he pulled up to the school.

"I mean yeah that seems sort of unavoidable" Liam agreed, before leaning over the seat to grab his backpack. When he sat back up he heard a mumbled "showtime" and when he followed Theo's gaze he saw Hayden standing in front of the school curiously looking at the truck. He looked away quickly, looking back at Theo and he froze when he felt the gentle press of Theo's lips on his cheek "see you tonight, Little Wolf" Theo said as he pulled away. He said it at a normal volume but it was loud enough for Hayden to hear. He also winked at Liam as he climbed out of the truck, leaving Liam a little surprised by how good Theo seemed to be at this. 

Liam walked towards the school slowly and as soon as Theo's truck could no longer be heard Hayden was next to him.

"So, you and Theo?" She asked. There were a few different emotions showing in her voice, but the most prominent one was genuine confusion.

"Uh yeah" he replied as casually as he could.

"This has got to be some sort of joke" the anger was starting to break through in her tone but Liam was more focused on responding in a way that would allow him to keep his heart steady.

"Why would it be a joke?"

"Seriously, Liam? Did you forget what he did to you? To your pack? I understood bringing him back to fight the ghost riders but choosing to actually trust him? Dating him? It doesn't make any sense."

Liam didn't even need to think about what he was going to say before responding.

"Of course I remember what he did, Hayden. I'll never be able to forget it but you know what? Neither will he. Hell changed him. He feels terrible about what he did and ever since he came back he has worked his ass off to prove that he's never going to do anything like that again. You will never understand the ways that Theo has helped us- helped me. You can't. You weren't here. If it weren't for Theo I might not be alive right now. So yeah, after everything we've been through together I didn't have to think twice about actually trusting him and I don't really care if it makes sense to you or to anyone else."

He turned and walked away before she could even respond, realizing that not lying throughout this charade might be easier than he thought seeing as how he'd just defended Theo without thinking about it and he hadn't even come close to telling a lie.

After the confrontation with Hayden Liam's morning continued on fairly uneventfully up until lunch. When he approached his usual table with Alec, Nolan, Mason, and Corey and noticed a fifth addition to the table. Hayden looked up as he approached the table and began to speak quickly when she noticed him tense. 

"Listen, I just wanted to apologize and if you want me to I'll leave the table after I'm done and I won't bother you anymore."

She probably would have preferred that he agree to talk to her somewhere away from the other four boys but when he made it clear that he was not going to move she took his silence as a sign to continue.

"Look, you were right earlier. I wasn't here. I don't understand the ways that Theo helped you and I haven't seen how he's changed. I don't know this Theo and I shouldn't have assumed that he's still as bad as he was. I'm not saying that I'm not skeptical because honestly it's hard not to be but I can see how much you trust him and care about him. I came back hoping that we could be friends, Liam and I realize that I haven't exactly gone about that the best way. I just want you to be happy and from what I can tell the only time you've seemed not happy the last two days is when I've been around. So if being with Theo makes you happy then I'm happy for you."

Liam listened to her heart throughout the entire speech. It stayed steady. She meant everything that she said and that meant a lot to him. He wasn't interested in her romantically anymore but he still cared about her as a person and even though he wasn't actually dating Theo, her attempting to accept him did feel important. Liam stood considering her for a moment before cracking a smile, "Ok, you can stay" he said, sitting down across from her and watching as a huge grin broke out on her face. 

"So that was nice and all" Nolan interrupted, "but how did I not know you were dating Theo?"

"Oh it's uh-it's new" Liam replied, making sure his heart stayed steady, "not exactly something we were telling lots of people yet."

"Well it's about damn time, I'll tell ya that much," Nolan replied casually, as if the words did not almost make Liam's heart stop beating in his chest, because what? But instead of saying that out loud Liam just let out a soft chuckle, trying not to give anything away, and quickly changed the subject by asking Hayden about her year away. 

The rest of lunch went by quickly, talking casually and joking around with his friends, a group that Hayden seemed to blend in with seamlessly, and Liam couldn't help but notice how easy the idea of being friends with her seemed.

After lacrosse practice that day Liam walked to the parking lot to find Theo leaning against his truck, just like every other day that he wasn't working and offered to pick Liam up. 

"I told my boss I'd swing by work to meet the delivery driver since he has some meeting or something" Theo said as Liam walked up to him, "you mind just coming with me? Shouldn't take more than an hour." 

Liam replied that it was fine as they both climbed into the truck and Theo began to drive toward Sinema. He'd gotten a job as a bartender there a few months back after he finally finished his senior year. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life but he liked it enough for now and the money was good. 

"So how'd it go today with Hayden?" Theo asked while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Well she was definitely less than thrilled about it at first but then she came up to me and apologized and told me that she just wanted me to be happy and she wanted to be friends. She meant it too. Honestly, it makes me feel kind of bad about lying to her" Liam said, finally voicing what he had been feeling since lunch.

"Makes sense I guess. So are you gonna tell her the truth?"

"What? That I lied about dating someone? You were the one that said I'd look like a pathetic asshole. I can't tell the truth now."

"You're ridiculous" Theo replied, rolling his eyes but his tone only held fondness. Liam laughed and shoved his shoulder playfully as they continued along the road. 

After signing for the delivery Theo went behind the bar to put a few bottles away while Liam sat at the bar waiting for him. They were just talking about nothing when they both paused at the sound of a familiar heart beat coming out of Theo's boss's office. They both looked up as Hayden walked out of the office and into the main part of the bar, stopping in her tracks when she saw them. After a few seconds of tense silence Liam was the first to speak. 

"Hey, what're you doing here?"

"I came to ask for my job back. What are you guys doing here?"

"I work here" Theo interjected, with an exaggerated motion towards the bar that he was clearly standing behind.

Hayden narrowed her eyes, "Are you even old enough to bartend?"

"You started serving shots here when you were fifteen. You should know better than anyone that that's not exactly one of the interview questions" Theo replied with a roll of his eyes, making Liam snort out a laugh. 

Hayden looked as though she wanted to argue but they all knew it was true, if you were hot you got hired. Between the employees and the amount of high school students that snuck in everyone was pretty sure that the owner was not overly concerned with the law as long as he was making money.

"Fair enough" Hayden eventually responded, "so I guess that means that you come here a lot more than you used to?" She continued, turning her attention to Liam. 

"Yeah he gets me in but I usually only come if Mason and Corey can too. I'm not allowed to hang out at the bar when it's busy, apparently I 'lose him tips'" Liam responded, including the air quotes on the last part and rolling his eyes.

This was another thing that he didn't have to worry about lying on because Theo actually had banned him from hanging out at the bar when it was busy. Apparently customers didn't like it when the bartender they were trying to flirt with was constantly talking to someone else. He had not so politely told Liam that he was a distraction and he should go bother Mason and Corey instead. 

"Honestly I don't blame him on that one" Hayden said, shaking Liam from his thoughts. "You make more money if they think that they have a chance and a boyfriend sitting up there the whole time is definitely going to shut that idea down real fast" she continued with a laugh.

"Exactly!" Theo exclaimed playfully gesturing at Hayden, as if she had just proved his point completely and the boyfriend aspect had always been part of his rule.

"And this way I can afford to take you dates" Theo added with a smirk. Liam figured if they were going to do this he should probably get better at playing along.

"Yeah after flirting with strangers for money" Liam responded, just as playfully.

"All for show baby, you know I save all the real flirting for you" Theo replied with a wink and while the irony of the words was not lost on Liam he still could not control the blush that immediately rose on his face at Theo calling him baby. 

He tried to play it off but he ended up just giving Theo a shy smile. He heard a chuckle from behind him and honestly, he had sort of forgotten that Hayden was still there and that everything that just happened was for her benefit but when he turned around he saw her looking at the two them with a smile that almost looked fond before she spoke back up.

"Well I have to go but I'll see you at school Liam" she paused before adding, "and I guess I'll see you at work Theo." 

They waved at her and she walked out, they sat there for a moment until they could no longer hear her car before Theo finally spoke.

"So, looks like putting on a show at school might not be quite enough," he huffed out a quiet laugh as he said it and Liam agreed with a quick nod and a roll of his eyes at the situation that he has gotten them both into.

\----

Liam thought that it would be hard after that, to keep up the act, and as time passed he found himself surprised by the fact that it just wasn't. The news of Liam and Theo dating spread through the school quickly but overall, not a lot changed for Liam. He got a few questions from people at school, of course, but as long as he was careful in answering them he found that he didn't really have to out right lie. Other than that the most that he gotten was a few jealous looks from boys and girls alike, because lets face it, everyone in that town knew how hot Theo was, and if Liam was being honest with himself he was starting to like the idea that people thought he could actually get someone like Theo. He also couldn't help but notice the lack of surprise that came from most people at hearing the news but this was something that he didn't let himself think about. 

So, the weeks went by and they kept up appearances just as they planned to. Everyday Theo would drop Liam off at school with a quick kiss on the cheek, since there always seemed to be people watching, and then they would both go about their days until it was time for Theo to pick Liam up. They were touchier with each other in public but when it was just them or even them, Corey and Mason, nothing was really different. They continued to cook dinner with Jenna and play video games, just as they always had. 

On weekends Theo would sneak Liam, Corey, and Mason into Sinema where he continued to refuse to let Liam talk to him at the bar, but he made sure to shoot him flirty looks from across the club, just in case Hayden was watching, sometimes even sending her over to sneak them drinks, Liam's and Corey's laced with wolfsbane so that it actually had an effect. 

Everything was going smoothly for about three weeks before they got hit with something that they definitely should have seen coming. They were sitting in the living room watching TV when Jenna walked in, leveling them both with a look that neither could decipher but it made it clear that whatever this was it was not going to end well for them. They both just looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Guess who I ran into today?" She asked but before either of them could guess she continued, "Valerie Clark." 

At this they both looked at each other as if they knew where this was going but neither wanted to speak up in case they were wrong. 

"I heard something very interesting from her. Either of you want to take any guesses on what that may be?"

Both boys just sat there squirming in their seats and avoiding eye contact as if actually taking a guess was the very last thing that either of them wanted to do. With an exasperated sigh, a smile finally broke out on to her face.

"Why didn't you all tell me that you got together?" 

"Uh. Well. I- we" Liam finally tried to speak up, without much success.

"If you were worried I'd be weird about it because of Theo living here you don't have to be" Jenna went on, basically having a conversation with her self at this point, "I'm happy for you and if you don't want to go into details about your relationship I get it. I'm just glad you two finally got your shit together" she finished while pulling both of them into a hug and planting a kiss on each of their cheeks. Before she left the living room she turned back to them.

"And boys? Just make sure that you keep it PG while David and I are around." 

With that she walked out of the room leaving both boys sitting in stunned silence, faces bright red with embarrassment.

"Well, I guess that could have gone worse" Liam eventually said. Not saying what he wanted to say, why did nobody seem surprised by this relationship?

"Yeah. We probably should have seen that coming and while I don't give a shit about lying to the town I really don't like lying to Jenna" Theo replied, guiltily.

"Me neither. But can you imagine telling her the truth now? We'd never hear the end of it." 

Both boys shuddered at the thought of having to explain the situation to Jenna and tried to push down the awkwardness of the last five minutes.

Later that night the two boys found themselves at Mason's house for a movie night. They were flipping through movie options trying to decide what to watch when Liam noticed Mason looking at them with a smirk of poorly concealed amusement on his face.

"What?" Liam finally asked.

"You know nobody else is here yet. You don't have to sit that close" Mason replied letting the look of amusement go from poorly concealed to not concealed at all. 

It was at that moment that Liam took in what Mason had been talking about as he realized that he was basically sharing a single couch cushion with Theo, completely pressed against his side. He felt his face turn bright red as he began to try to stammer out a response but Theo beat him to it.

" Just getting into character" he said easily, and honestly, Liam was starting to get jealous of how all of this was clearly not affecting Theo in the least. "Besides, don't want to have to move when other people get here" he went on.

"Right" Mason responded, clearly skeptical, and honestly Liam couldn't blame him. If he was being completely honest with himself maybe not everything had stayed exactly the same. He couldn't help but notice how much more often things like this were happening. 

Even when nobody else was around Liam still seemed to gravitate closer to Theo. They ate dinner with their knees touching under the table, they played video games with Liam sitting on the bed while Theo sat on the floor leaning against his legs, they watched TV with their sides pressed fully together. They never started out sitting that way, he realized, just as the minutes ticked by and they got more comfortable they always ended up much closer than they initially intended. 

Thinking about it now Liam realized that he actually had no idea how long things like that had been going on for but he knew that it had become more noticeable when the fake relationship had started. He also couldn't help but realize that he did not mind at all.

He was shaken from his thoughts by the doorbell ringing. Mason left to answer it and returned to the room with Nolan, Alec, and Hayden in tow.

"Ok" Mason started once everyone had made themselves comfortable around the living room, "so my parents are going out of town this weekend so obviously I'm going to be a high school cliche and throw a party. It'll be Friday night after the lacrosse game. You're all coming."

Everyone happily agreed. They hung out as a small group a lot but they didn't go to actual parties all that often, so this change in routine was a welcome one.

"And Theo," Mason continued, directing his attention to the chimera, "get whatever wolfsbane you need to get supernaturals drunk. Everyone's getting wasted. You all can sleep here after."

Theo just laughed and nodded, as he shifted in his seat, now throwing an arm around Liam's shoulders. Liam shifted into the touch without even thinking about it, laying his head on Theo's shoulder and that's when he felt a soft kiss being placed in his hair. As everyone continued to talk around him he tried to pay attention but he couldn't, now suddenly focused intently on every point of contact between his and Theo's bodies. He didn't know why that tiny kiss on his head had caused this reaction. After all, Theo and him had been casually touching each other all the time for the past three weeks but somehow that one little kiss felt more intimate than anything else that had happened between them thus far. With this sudden realization came another one; Liam wanted more. 

He wanted to keep watching TV with his body pressed against Theo's, he wanted Theo to continue to put his arm around him, he wanted to fall asleep cuddled into his side, he wanted Theo to keep kissing his cheeks, and his hair, his lips- definitely his lips. He quickly moved on in his thoughts before he could start thinking about where else he would like Theo's mouth to go.

As Liam sat there with these realizations pouring out of him he also considered that the only part of this that was surprising was how not surprised he was.

It made sense, that he would feel this way about Theo. Theo was gorgeous of course, that was a simple, undeniable fact. Even when Theo had been trying to manipulate Liam and the pack and murder Scott he'd still been vaguely aware of how objectively attractive the other boy was. But it was more than that now. Theo was also funny in a sarcastic asshole sort of way and he was smart and he had put his own life on the line for Liam more times than he can count. Liam wondered how long he had felt this way. It probably went back further than he was willing to realize. 

When this whole lie first started Liam could have just told Hayden that he was happy and left it at that, or he could have immediately told her that he wasn't actually dating anyone, hell, he could have asked someone that Hayden didn't know to help him. Instead he had launched himself at Theo without thinking. Because that was his natural instinct. Immediately turning to Theo had become his instinct. This thought led him to another thought that he had been aware of but had been blissfully ignoring, it had been three weeks. 

This was only supposed to go on for a few weeks and here they were a few weeks later and neither of them making any move to talk about ending this. For a brief moment, Liam allowed himself to be hopeful that maybe that meant that this meant more to Theo too. He quickly pushed that thought away. There was no way. Theo was just doing this to be a good friend. He was probably waiting on Liam to bring up the end of it since this whole thing had been Liam's moronic scheme in the first place. Liam knew that he should end it, especially now that he knew without a doubt how he actually felt about Theo, but sitting there with Theo pressed against his side, warm arm around his shoulders, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't imagine losing this even though he knew it wasn't real.

"You OK Little Wolf? You're so quiet" Theo's soft voice brought him back from his rampage of feelings, making him really hope that his chemo signals hadn't been going too crazy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking" he responded quietly. 

Theo looked down at him, giving him a soft smile before pulling him closer into his side and leaning his head against Liam's, burying his face in Liam's hair. And as he sat there listening to their friends talk, completely surrounded by Theo's warmth and amazing scent, he thought that he could let himself have this for just a little bit longer before it all ended.

\----

Liam was drunk. He was in Mason's dark house with music blaring a little too loud for his sensitive ears, surrounded by what seemed to be the entire student body of Beacon Hills High School and he was undeniably drunk.

Despite what Mason had said about everybody getting wasted he had not actually planned on this. He had gotten to the party knowing that he was going to drink but not too much. Theo had made him a drink laced with wolfsbane, and then two more, but the thing about wolfsbane is that once it's in your system even non laced alcohol will continue to effect you until its out of your system. They had come from the lacrosse game where they had won with Liam scoring the game winning goal at the last possible second. This led to a lot of people congratulating him and even more offering him shots, which of course he took because it would be rude not to. He also implemented a rule stating that every time he did a shot Theo had to too. 

So now Liam was drunk, not quite wasted like Mason had wanted, but definitely drunk. He was swaying side to side and he needed to be still but his feet didn't want to let him. He leaned into the closest thing to him, which just happened to be Theo, expecting to be steadied but all he got was even more swaying as Theo stumbled under his weight, almost causing them to fall over.

"You were supposed to stop the moving" Liam said while glaring at Theo.

"And I probably would've been able to but somebody got me drunk" Theo replied, giving Liam as pointed of a look as he could in his current state. 

"I'm not the one that brought the wolfsbane. Nobody to blame but yourself" Liam said back, with a proud smile as though this was he most intelligent thing that he had ever said.

Theo just laughed and rolled his eyes, moving back to lean against a wall and pulling Liam with him. When Liam looked up at him he had a soft expression on his face and Liam could swear his eyes were actually sparkling. He couldn't help but think that it was truly unfair for anyone to be that attractive. Theo's head tilted slightly toward Liam as he gave him a warm smile, causing Liam to glance down at his lips. It was then that Liam realized just how close they were. All he would need to do is tilt his head forward a few inches and their mouths could meet.

As if reading his mind he heard someone stumble up to them and through slurred speech say, "I just realized I've never seen you guys kiss." 

They both turned towards the voice to see Hayden standing there on wobbling legs looking at them with her head tilted in curiosity with Alec and Nolan standing beside her, also clearly drunk, both now making faces as if they had also just had this realization. 

"Seems weird" Hayden continued, not in a judgmental way just in a drunk person with no filter way, "me and Liam used to kiss all the time."

"So I've heard" Theo responded, tone coming out a little harsher than he probably meant it to.

"It's not a bad thing" Hayden said, almost a little defensively, "I just realized I'd never seen it."

At this Theo and Liam turned to look at each other, faces still close together . Liam wasn't totally sure if the look was more of an 'oh shit, we're busted' look or a 'maybe we should start making out right now' look, and before he could figure it out, another voice interjected.

"Yeah and that's not something we're gonna see tonight" Corey stated, clearly the most sober out of the whole group, while practically planting his body in between Liam and Theo. He tried to cover his odd behavior by adding on "they're both drunk. Do you have any idea how sloppy that's gonna be? Nobody needs to see that. Plus it's Liam. Once he makes out with somebody in front of us once he's going to think it's fair game to do it all the time. Trust me, I'm saving us all" Corey finished, and Liam had to give it to him it was a pretty good cover story. 

Everyone else clearly agreed since they were nodding as if that made perfect sense and then walking away as though they had lost interest completely. 

Corey let out a sigh of relief turning to Liam and Theo and saying quietly "Seriously guys? You've gone three weeks without raising suspicion or having to kiss. I leave you alone for 20 minutes and you almost end up making out in front of the whole school." 

They both just stared at him, blankly, causing him to sigh again, this time in frustration.

"I need to go find my drunk boyfriend. You two keep it in your pants. This is not how either of you want this to happen. And go get some water. Now." He said while practically shoving them towards the kitchen.

They followed in the direction that they were pushed and went into the kitchen to get water, Liam sat on the counter drinking it slowly as Theo leaned up against his legs. His drunk was starting to wear off a little bit, at least enough so that his senses could no longer ignore the sounds and smells that were just a little too much for them.

"Ugh, it's too loud" Liam pouted from his place on the counter. 

Theo scrunched up his face in agreement, Liam tried and failed to not find it adorable. 

"Come with me" Theo said, looking back up at him with a look of determination on his face as he reached up to grab Liam's hips and help him off of the counter. It's not like Liam needed help but it's also not like he was complaining. 

"Where are we going?" Liam asked as he placed his hand in Theo's outstretched one and Theo twined their fingers together, lightly pulling Liam along as he began to leave the kitchen.

Theo didn't respond as he pulled Liam back through the house and up the stairs, going through the hallway until they reached the last door and he dragged Liam in behind him. Liam registered that they were in one of Mason's guest rooms and as Theo shut the door behind them and turned to him asking "better?" Liam realized that it was. He could still hear the music but it was no longer overwhelming and without the smells of alcohol and sweaty teenagers this room was practically paradise compared to where they'd just been.

"Much better" Liam responded looking back at Theo, "thanks."

Theo just smiled and walked over to the edge of the bed, sitting down. Liam followed, sitting down beside him. 

"So that was close earlier" Liam said, mostly because he didn't know what else to say and this thought had been rattling around in his brain since it had happened- or almost happened. When Theo just raised an eyebrow Liam clarified "the uh- the thing with Hayden earlier. And the- the kissing" he could feel his face turning red.

"Oh yeah" Theo said "I thought we were about to be busted."

"Yeah either that or it would've been like Corey said and we would've made out in front of the whole school," Liam tried to say this as casually as possible. 

He knew that he was still at least a little drunk or he would have never said something like that and he was hoping that Theo still had enough alcohol in his system to keep him from noticing the deafening sound of Liam's heart pounding in his chest. If he noticed it he didn't let on. He just looked at Liam with that smile on his face that Liam couldn't get enough of, as though it was only there for him.

Liam smiled back and Theo looked unsure for a second and then he was leaning in. 

Holy. Shit. Theo was leaning in. 

Liam barely had a second to process this before Theo's lips landed on his softly, almost hesitantly, and Liam responded instantly. He tilted his head, deepening the kiss, his hands shooting up to tangle in Theo's hair as Theo's hands moved down to his waist. Liam ran his tongue along Theo's bottom lip, biting down lightly and Theo immediately opened his mouth to let him in, the kiss turning instantly more desperate.

It was at this moment that Liam started to wonder why he ever bothered doing anything that wasn't kissing Theo Raeken. 

It was also at this moment that the door opened with a bang causing them to jump apart.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry" Hayden slurred out as she stood stumbling in the doorway, "I thought I left my bag in here earlier." 

She quickly turned around and stumbled away, shutting the door behind her. When he turned to look back at the Theo his face was neutral again and Liam knew that the moment had been broken. 

He searched for something to say, anything and as soon as he asked "did you hear her coming?" and Theo's response was "yeah I heard her heartbeat. She definitely can't say she hasn't seen us kiss now," Liam wished that he had said anything else.

Theo was smiling at him again, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Come on, we should probably go to sleep anyway otherwise tomorrow's gonna suck" Theo said, nodding at the bed they were on. 

"Uh- yeah. Yeah definitely" Liam responded, trying not to sound heartbroken. 

They climbed up the head of the bed and settled in under the blankets. It didn't take Theo long to fall asleep, and eventually after what felt like hours Liam fell asleep too, surrounded by the calming smell and steady heartbeat of the one person that he wanted most and now knew that he could never have.

The next morning Theo drove them home in a silence that was slightly less comfortable than usual, neither of them bringing up the kiss. They walked up the stairs in the same silence and right before Theo could go to his room Liam turned towards him "you wanna play video games?" He knew that the attempt to keep Theo around was thinly veiled but he couldn't stand the idea of Theo just walking away while this unspoken weight seemed to be hanging between them.

"I should probably sleep. I have work tonight and right now I'm exhausted" and Liam knew that that was a completely legitimate excuse but he couldn't help but feel like there was more to it than that. 

He knew that he was right when the rest of the day passed by without any interaction between the two of them and his fear only got worse when the next day passed in a similar way. 

By Wednesday the distance had become practically unbearable for Liam. Theo seemed to have avoiding him down to an art and it was killing Liam. He made up reasons why he couldn't drop Liam off at school or pick him up, suggesting that he ask Mason instead. He was gone when Liam woke up in the morning and didn't come back until Liam was in bed. When Liam tried to ask him about it he just brushed it off saying that he had work but if that was true then Liam was 90% sure that he was picking up extra shifts just to avoid him. 

He had spent the entire week so far sulking, just going through the motions at school but his mind was somewhere else. How could he possibly have messed this up this much? And why was Theo avoiding him? 

Liam could only think of one possible reason.

Theo had figured out how he felt about him. 

He figured out that Liam hadn't been kissing him as part of their cover. He was sure that between his heartbeat and his chemo signals he had led Theo directly to the discovery and now Theo wanted nothing to do with him.

He was moping through the hall after the final bell had signaled the end of the day on Wednesday when he was abruptly grabbed by the arm and pulled into the nearest closest. When he looked up to see who had just grabbed him he only became more confused.

"What the hell Hayden? Why are we in a closet?" 

"Because your scent of sadness and self pity is absolutely overwhelming and you are going to tell me what's wrong right now" she demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Very convincing, Liam now cut the shit and tell me what happened with Theo."

"Theo? Why would you automatically assume that Theo has anything to do with it?" Even he knew how badly this was going for him and he could feel what little composure he had left beginning to crack.

"Seriously Liam? I've never seen you smile the way that you do when you're around him. You're the at your happiest when you're with him so it only makes sense that you'd be at your saddest when you're, well.. not" she winced slightly at her own words, clearly realizing that was not the most sensitive approach.

And that was the final blow before Liam felt any composure he had left crumble around him, letting the full range of his emotions show on his face. 

"Ok maybe you're not wrong" he finally admitted in a small voice, struggling to hold back tears, "but whatever you're thinking, I promise you it's worse."

"I'll be the judge of that. Tell me what happened."

And he did. He broke down and he told her everything. From her return shocking him and the words she said hurting him, leading him to being an idiot. He told her about the fake relationship but the way they seemed to actually get closer, how he realized that he had actual feelings for Theo. He told her about the kiss and how he realized that Theo didn't feel the same way and how he was avoiding him now. By the time he was done with the full story he was sitting on the floor of the closet, with Hayden rubbing soothing circles on his back, allowing his tears to fall freely down his face, no longer having the energy to hold them back.

"So that's it" he finally said "it was all a lie. Everything is ruined and it's all my fault because I told a stupid lie."

He expected Hayden to be mad at him that he'd lied to her, especially over something so stupid but when he finally looked back up at her face there was no anger there, just sympathy and support. He realized not for the first time how glad he was to have her back in his life as a friend.

"Well first of all," Hayden finally spoke after quietly listening to the whole story "I'm sorry that I said what I said. I really didn't mean it that way but I understand why it seemed that way"

"It's Ok, I overreacted" Liam reassured her "I'm the one that lied about dating someone." 

At that moment an alarm on her phone went off.

"I'm really sorry, I have to go to work" she said and she did look genuinely sorry "but you didn't lie."

"What do you mean I didn't lie? Where have you been for the past month?"

"The relationship may have been fake" she said as she stood up from the closet floor, "but you never were a convincing liar, Liam." With that she gave him a soft smile and left him completely confused on the floor of the closet. 

He got up slowly, her words spinning around in his head and he made a decision. He needed to talk to Theo. He couldn't lose him. He could live with Theo not wanting to be with him but he couldn't not have him in his life. He stormed into the hallway with determination. He found Mason standing outside of the locker room with Corey and Nolan.

"Mason! I need a ride. Nolan, tell Coach I'm not coming to practice and I'm sorry"

Nolan looked absolutely horrified at the idea of having to tell Coach anything along those lines but Mason jumped into action immediately, grabbing his keys from his pocket and falling into step with Liam as they headed for the door.

"You're skipping practice too?" He heard Mason ask and looked up to see Corey walking right along with them on Mason's other side.

"Coach will be so mad about Liam skipping that he won't even notice I'm gone" Corey said confidently, "besides we both know what you're about to do" he continued, turning his attention to Liam "I'm rooting for you."

And honestly Liam was past even trying to deny it. He just blushed profusely and gave Corey a small nod of thanks as they rushed to Mason's car.

When they pulled up in front of Liam's house and he saw the familiar blue truck in the driveway indicating that Theo was home, he jumped out of the car before Mason could even come to a complete stop and took off running. He sprinted into the house and up the stairs, barging into Theo's room before he could stop himself. As soon as he opened the door and Theo looked up from his book in surprise Liam froze, realizing that he had not actually thought about what he was going to say. 

Now he had Theo staring at him expectantly with his stupid, beautiful eyes and he was frozen. He needed to say something.

"You've been avoiding me" he probably could have chosen a better opening line but now that it was out there this was what he was going with.

He expected Theo to deny it, or to get mad at him, to yell, maybe to keep ignoring him but he should've known better, he learned a long time ago that Theo was full of surprises.

"Yeah. Yeah I have been." His voice was quiet and almost embarrassed.

"Oh- uh" the blatant display of direct honesty had really thrown him off. "Want to tell me why?"

Theo sat up on his bed, letting out a long sigh, as if whatever he was about to say was physically painful.

"I couldn't handle being around you" -and ouch. Liam knew that Theo didn't want to be with him but not even wanting to be around him? Maybe he couldn't handle having this conversation after all. Before he could say anything Theo continued to talk.

"It was easier before, when everything was normal. And realistically I knew this wouldn't end well before it even started but you just- you looked so worried and overwhelmed, like you didn't know what to do or how to fix what you'd said and I knew I was going to do whatever it took to keep that look off of your face so I agreed before you even asked-"

At this point Liam is just so confused, because if Theo is about to tell him that he's disgusted by him he chose a strange lead up. Liam didn't even try to interject, just waiting helplessly for Theo to continue.

"-and at the time I honestly thought that I could handle it. That it would be fine and that I could get through it. That we'd occasionally hold hands in public and otherwise we'd be exactly like normal. And that was what made it so hard because for a while it felt like normal, but it also didn't"

And Liam knew that feeling too well, though he imagined that Theo probably didn't mean it in the same way that he did.

"-because even when we were alone and not putting on an act for anyone I still found myself gravitating towards you, like once I'd been allowed to be that close to you I couldn't go back to doing things any other way"

And Liam was trying very hard to not feel hopeful right now but it felt like his exact thoughts were being spoken back to him and he kept scanning his brain for any way that those words could be meant differently than the way that he felt them and he was so far coming up blank. But he kept waiting.

"And then I got too comfortable. Too close" he must have seen the confusion on Liam's face because with a voice full of shame he added on "when I kissed you."

"You kissed me because you heard Hayden's heartbeat.." Liam started to say, going all the way back to truly confused. Theo looked at him as though it was crazy that he believed the words coming out of his own mouth.

"I didn't notice Hayden's heartbeat, Liam." He said it as though it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. 

"When you're around I don't notice anything but you. And that absolutely terrifies me."

At those words Liam is pretty sure that he stops breathing. He's trying to focus on what Theo just said because he's pretty sure it's the most romantic thing that anyone has ever said to him. And the fact that Theo just said it, well that makes it even more unbelievable. 

Theo is always focused, he's always on high alert, he's always in control and here he is telling Liam that when he's with him he's just- not. 

The idea of Theo not noticing a heartbeat in the hallway is mind blowing and he knows that giving up that control makes Theo uncomfortable and the fact that he's now willingly telling Liam about it is amazing. And then it hits him. Theo didn't notice a heartbeat in the hallway. Theo didn't know that anyone was coming. 

He didn't kiss Liam as part of an act.

He had kissed Liam because he wanted to.

Now, Liam is fully aware that it should not have taken him this long to connect those dots, especially since Theo had just blatantly told him this. But even after Liam had stood there listening to Theo basically tell him how he felt, for some unexplainable reason, this is what finally made Liam fully understand.

The kiss was real. 

He could see Theo open his mouth to keep talking but after making that connection he couldn't hold back any longer.

"I didn't lie!" He practically shouted, and now it was Theo's turn to look confused.

"Uh, what?"

"I didn't lie" Liam said again much calmer this time, though he knew that that did nothing to clear anything up, so he kept going.

"You said it was impressive that I controlled my heart when I lied to Hayden and for a while even I couldn't figure out how I did it. But then I realized that my heart didn't skip because I didn't lie."

"Uh so you actually are dating someone? Cause if that's the case then I could have avoided an overwhelming amount of feelings over the last month and also this conversation," Theo replied, unsure. Liam was unsure how much of the response was actually a joke but he just rolled his eyes and continued to explain.

"No, idiot. I didn't actually say that I was dating someone, Hayden took that leap on her own and I vaguely nodded. I told her that I had someone that I care about. I didn't lie. I didn't lie about any of it."

At this point he could see something that looked a lot like hope trying to make its way onto Theo's face but he was fighting it, trying to keep a neutral expression. Theo spoke up slowly and hesitantly.

"You always were a bad liar, Little Wolf" Theo still looked unsure but Liam could see the small smile that was trying to break onto his face.

Even if Theo still wasn't sure, Liam now knew that they were on the same page and he had every intention of making sure that Theo knew that too.

He walked up to where Theo now sat at the edge of his bed and after not seeing any other good options, Liam climbed onto the bed, straddling Theo's thighs. He heard Theo's breath hitch quietly right before he leaned down and sealed their lips together. It was softer than their first kiss, slower, less desperate, it was still perfect. 

When they finally pulled away they were both panting for breath and smiling.

"I didn't think I'd get to do that again" Theo admitted, "are you sure that this is what you want?" Liam knew what he meant, are you sure that I am what you want? 

Liam knew that Theo still hadn't forgiven himself for everything he'd done, that he didn't always believe that he deserved good things in his life. Liam planned on proving him wrong.

"I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life" he was cupping Theo's face gently, eyes locked on his. 

He needed Theo to know how much he mattered. After a moment a huge smile broke out across Theo's face.

"Well alright, but this time it's real. This time you're stuck with me" Theo said, smile not leaving his face.

"Thank God" Liam responded with a matching smile, as he leaned down to the close the distance between them once again.

\----  
EIGHT MONTHS LATER

Liam had just finished clearing the last book out of his now empty locker when he heard a car horn sound from the parking lot, still too loud and still clearly with the intention to irritate him. He rolled his eyes fondly as he gestured across the mostly empty hallway to Mason, Corey, and Hayden, before turning and walking down the hallway, towards the doors with the three of them trailing behind him.

As he walked out of the doors to the high school for the last time he couldn't help but think that he had been right on his first day, all those months ago, senior year had been great and he couldn't be luckier than to be surrounded by all of these people that care about him so much. He looked across the practically empty parking lot and his heart started beating just a little faster when he saw Theo leaning against his truck as he waited for them. 

This was the same sight that he had seen almost everyday after school since the beginning of the year but it never got old. And something about this day in particular reminded him about the very first day of the school year when he saw Theo leaning against that truck. He couldn't help himself. 

He took off running. 

Theo looked up at the sound of footsteps pounding on the pavement and let out a quick laugh before Liam was closing the distance and launching himself into Theo's arms. Theo caught him easily this time and spun him around as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but before he could place him back on the ground Liam leaned forward and attached their lips in a kiss that may have been a bit inappropriate for a high school parking lot. When they finally pulled away and Theo set his feet gently on the pavement they were both panting and laughing.

"Why so eager, Little Wolf? We've got all the time in the world."

And at that Liam just smiled and leaned back up to kiss his boyfriend gently because he knew that he was right.


End file.
